My farming biography used to say that I started farming in 1988 and haven’t been able to stop myself ever since. Well, just shy of 30 years in, I’ve found a way.

As you know, one of the main reasons I farm the way I do is to produce food while building soil. I have been offered a job helping other New Hampshire farmers within the Connecticut River watershed in New Hampshire do just that. This is an opportunity to improve soil health on a much larger scale than I ever could by working on my own, and it’s a way to do it in the part of the world that’s nearest and dearest to my heart.

With the exception of a pair of three-month stints -- one when I was an infant and one when I first graduated from college -- I have lived in the Connecticut River watershed all my life. I’ll be working for the New Hampshire Association of Conservation Districts in a position that’s funded by a national effort to reduce pollution in Long Island Sound. It’s a three year position for now, but if all goes according to plan the work will continue beyond the life of the initial grant.

Over the coming months, I will be phasing out production and liquidating much of my farming equipment so that I can focus on helping other farmers.

I still have a bunch of great sausage to sell, and my laying hens seem to keep on laying so I’ll have eggs for a while. There’s a strong chance I’ll be raising some lambs this year. But I’m not planning to raise any pork, meat birds, beef, or turkeys, and I’m not accepting new CSA membership for the coming year.

I want to thank everyone who has ever bought from me, given me a word of encouragement on a rough day, helped me find places to raise meat and vegetables, helped me find financing or funding for improvements, loaned me equipment, and put up with me in general. Without your support I would not be in the position to take on this new project. And I wouldn’t have been able to do what I love to do for the last 10,750 days or so.

Together, we put a lot of good food on a lot of tables, and built a lot of great soil. I hope you’ll keep supporting local farms that are doing right by their animals and the land. Get in touch if you need some suggestions.